[JGOelfke]

Hey guys,
 
I'm planning to buy one of my friends a set of fairly nice, fairly portable headphones for Christmas but I haven't been able to come up with a pair that will fit what I'm looking for. She listens solely to music played either directly out of an iPod or out of a 3.5mm jack on her laptop, so I need something that can be easily driven. 
 
I am also looking for a closed headphone, so that the cans can be used in the library for studying, on planes, etc...and preferably in the $150-$180 range. Oh...and circumaural would be best. I know those are some tight restrictions, which is why I've been having a fairly hard time finding the right headphones.
 
So far, I have considered (with possible problems in parentheses):
 
AKG K272 (picky with source)
Sennheiser HD 380 (muddy sound with very boomy bass)
Sennheiser HD 448 (possible lack of durability)
Sennheiser HD 25-II (on-ear and leak sound as a result, but otherwise perfect)
Shure SRH 840 (bulkiness)
Denon AH-D1100 (leak sound easily)
Audio-Technica A700 and ES7 (leak sound, although I haven't heard the ES7)
 
...however all of these seem to have some flaw in regards to what I'm looking for. Her music tastes are pretty much everything except for reggae, classical, and electronic music. Moreso than anything, she listens most to country (unfortunately ) and for that reason, I am leaning towards a can that emphasizes mids and highs with a little darker tone such as the 448s or the 272s. Although from everything I've read, the 272s are incredibly sensitive to the source, so that is all that's holding me back.
 
Any suggestions towards any of the above mentioned headphones or others to consider would be much appreciated!! Thanks 

 

[ZARIM]

Image ONE,  V-Moda V80....

 

[JGOelfke]

Don't want on-ear...

 

[avianer]

Have you thought about the Shure SRH440's? I used those, comparing to the 840's, i find that its a bit more transparent. 

 

[JGOelfke]

I actually hadn't considered those. How does the comfort with the 440s compare with the 840s? Are they, for example, as heavy on the head as the 840s are?

 

[avianer]

They're are much lighter than the 840's. I find the 440's comfortable. They're not overly tight, and they stay. For the record, you can use the 840 foam cups for the 440's, even though they don't come stock with the 440's, the 840 foam does work on the 440's.
 

 

[JGOelfke]

I'll definitely have to look into the 440s then. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[JGOelfke]

I checked out the 440s but I actually found some headphones that sounded all-around better and were more comfortable...the KRK KNS-8400. I was really surprised by these, especially since I hadn't heard of them before. For the price that I can get the KRKs at, I think I have a winner.